1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to injectors and nozzles, and more particularly to injectors and nozzles for injection of liquids.
2. Description of Related Art
Enabling the breakup of large liquid bulk flow into a fine spray has always been a challenge, particularly in fuel injection applications for example. For simplex pressure atomizers, in order to obtain high flow rates, the liquid supply pressure must increase dramatically, or the orifice must be enlarged. Often high pressure is not feasible, and droplet size tends to get larger as the orifice diameter increases. Air assist or prefilming air-blast nozzles are commonly used to atomize sprays when pressurized air is available. The air-blast method relies on the shearing effect of high velocity air to provide atomization. Often, an upstream trim orifice is incorporated which aids in flow calibration. The pressure drop taken across the trim orifice wastes energy which could potentially be used for atomization.
In some cases, multiple injection points have been employed to disperse a flow, reducing each stream to a more manageable volume. However, there tend to be downsides to conventional multiple injection techniques, such as complex geometry, large part count, limited physical space, maintaining balanced flow rate at all injection points, poor downstream patternation, small passage sizes prone to plugging, external carbon build up due to wetted surfaces, and heat shielding difficulties.
Such conventional methods and systems generally have been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there still remains a continued need in the art for multi-point injectors that allow for effective break up of bulk liquids with simplified geometry, improved spray patternation, and simplified heat shielding capabilities. The present invention provides a solution to these problems.